Young central defender George Edmundson wants to repay the faith that Manager Frankie Bunn has shown in him this season.
Edmundson has played every minute of every game so far this campaign and he puts down his run in the team to Bunn.
“I'm only a young, especially as a centre half it's a young age to be playing, so I’ve got to put it down to the gaffer for having the belief to play me and hopefully I'm repaying him.” He said.
“He lets me get on with my own game, but we've gone through clips and he's advised me what to do in certain situations defensively, but he's pointed out some improvements and hopefully I can put them into practice.”
Edmundson also says that the run of consecutive games he’s played in is helping his overall performances improve.
“It's helped massively, in previous years it's been a game here and there, but now I feel like I’ve settled in from playing regularly.” He commented.
“You have to take every game as it comes, but you just get a lot more confidence from knowing that you'll be in the team which ultimately helps you improve your game.”
He also believes that the more he plays is helping him to learn the tricks of the trade and a sense of maturity from playing regular first team football.
“I feel like I've matured as a player a lot more, there would have been certain situations where I might have dived in or been all over the striker because I think I can win every ball.
“I’m learning more about the game such as little tactics to gain an advantage, but I feel like I'm not the finished article yet and there's a lot more to come in terms of improvement over this season.”
For fans with a keen eye, many would have noticed that Edmundson has been sporting some headwear over the past couple of days.
The defender confirmed that he suffered a blow to the head from an accident in training, but he says it will not affect his performances.
“The heads alright, I had four stitches, I'm not sure when they get taken out, but I'm fine.
“It was an accident in training, the day before Port Vale we were trying to re-enact Tom Pope and Benteke's tried to re-enact it a bit too realistically and caught me with his elbow.
“The first couple of headers I could feel it because Stu (Irwin) didn't put much padding on it, but once you get in the game you forget about it.”
Last season proved to be a bittersweet moment for Edmundson after he scored his first senior goal in the 2-2 draw at Northampton last season, but Latics still faced the reality of relegation.
However, he doesn’t believe that the fortunes of last season will still be on the players minds as Latics will go there looking for the three points.
“Obviously to score was a great feeling, but we didn’t get the win we needed, so it got put aside when we got relegated.
“The seasons started already, so we're not thinking about what happened last year, we're just going to focus on what we need to do and get the three points.
“They're going to be a good side especially coming into the game after thumping Macclesfield 5-0, so they're going to be tough, but I'm confident we can get the three points.
“Every game we're confident it makes no difference whether we're home or away and we feel like we can play any team in this league and win.”